Keeping it coooool....

Hi everyone!

Sooooo...didn't I say I won't be here for the week sometimes?  Wellllll...I guess that week stretch into *EEK!* over a month!  To be honest, I've been struggling with both finding time to write AND the motivation TO write once I found the time.  But I have to say once I was surfing through the blog looking for a recipe the other night, I realized how much I missed it!  So again, it's not easy, but I'll try to fit writing in as much as I can.J

What also helps is that cooking dinner has now gone from *HURRY UP! SCOTT'S HOME AND THE BABY'S SLEEPING!  MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!* to now getting to bring the little peanut in the kitchen with me to keep me company....all while Penny keeps HER companyJ  

That makes things QUITE a bit easier!

Anyyyyhow...I have a great recipe to share with you today.  And a perfectly appropriate one since the mercury hit the TRIPLE DIGITS in Jersey the last few days, so we had to have a cool & minimal cooking dish!  Which = Panzanella salad...

What's Panzanella salad?  It's an Italian salad made of stale bread and tomatoes.  But since man can't exist on bread and tomatoes alone, I used it as my base to highlight a beautiful bounty of summer produce.

But first, the classics:  the tomato... 

....butttt since I'm not a fan of 'raw' tomatoes, I coated them with olive oil & sea salt and roasted these in the toaster oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until they were brown and bursting... 

Next, I gathered up the rest of my ingredients... 

My first 'added ingredient' was some sliced zucchini.  And since Scott wasn't home, and it was 3043580 degrees outside, I took the 'easy' route and grilled the zucchini on my indoor griddle... 

...which I *possibly* should have sprayed with some olive oil...buttttt, I did manage to gain some great grill marks!J

I diced those up and added them to my bowl... 

...along with a diced cucumber... 

...some diced fresh mozzarella.... 

...a couple handfuls of torn basil (my quintessential summer staple...yum!)... 

....and here's where it gets interestingJ  You certainly wouldn't see this in a traditional panzanella...but who could resist the cooooool addition of some creamy avocado! 

And finally, the bread, of course!  I cubed up some stale Italian bread (about 5 days old)....

...and added it along with some salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, olive oil & red wine vinegar.  I let it refrigerate  for about an hour to let all of the flavors meld & to allow the bread to soften up a bit.  (hold off on adding the bread if the salad is going to refrigerate for more than an hour...you don't want it to get soggy!)

Where, oh where, do I begin to even start to tell you how good this was!?? 

Chewy bites of bread along with tangy tomatoes, soft mozzarella, creamy avocado, crunchy cucumbers, grill kissed zucchini all dotted with fresh basil...each bite was a veritable HUM of flavors!

Scott said he'd eat this again next week....so you know that's a thumbs up!  Guess I have something to do with that 2nd half of the breadJ 

Summer Panzanella Salad

Adapted slightly from Camille Styles

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (and roasted if your not a 'raw' fan, like me!)
• 2 sliced zucchini, grilled & diced
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella, diced
• 1 medium cucumber, diced
• 2 handfuls of basil (about 12 leaves), torn
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 loaf of stale Italian bread, cubed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (for drizzling)
• 2 tablespoons red wine (or white balsamic) vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Combine everything in a large bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.  ENJOY!

I definitely went back for seconds on this one!

And just to show you what ELSE was going on my kitchen...I thought I'd show you how *fun* things got once Daddy arrived homeJ

 I could say I won't be posting pictures of the baby on every post...

...but I think part of me would be lyingJ 

Anyways...I hope you enjoyed my post for today!  I'll be giving you guys an update on my post-baby exercise schedule & weight loss soon.  Let's just say it's been a C-H-A-L-L-E-N-G-E!

Have a great night...and if you're on the east coast: STAY COOL!

Any excuse for...

If there's one thing Scott & I are huge fans of:  It's buffalo chicken.  If we're not having crispy baked buffalo chicken fingers AT LEAST once a month, I'm usually looking for new ways to combine that spicy buffalo taste along with any excuse to eat blue cheeseJ  (like my buffalo chicken meatloaf!)  So last night I added a new member to our 'buffalo repertoire' and this one might be the easiest yet!

Because this one was made in the SLOW COOKER! 

That's right!  Hands on cooking time??  ZERO!  Wohooooooooooooo!  I added 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast to my slow cooker along with a half a cup of chicken broth and a few shakes from ye ole' buffalo sauce...this time a nice GARLIC flavor...

Then I let it cook on high for about 5 hours.  Then I drained out 3/4 of the cooking liquid, gave the chicken a quick shred and added just enough extra sauce to flavor it up.  Let it all heat up together for another 30 minutes or so and that part is DONE!

And how did we serve the chicken??

On nice, cooooooooool lettuce wraps!

I often ask Scott (after plowing through a burgerJ) why we don't use lettuce wraps MORE often.  They're super crisp, healthy and you REALLLY get to taste the sandwich fillings soooooo much better than with a thick, carby bread.  It's just one of those 'quick swaps' I always forgetJ

And as the coooooooool part of our wraps, I made none other than our FAVORITE blue cheese cole slaw.  This time I added a little broccoli slaw into the mix...

Truth be told, it was only to save time from having to dice up carrots & celery, but the broccoli slaw worked out JUSTTTT fineJ

To lighten up our 'slaw, I added 2 parts nonfat greek yogurt (about 1/2 cup) and 1 part mayo (about 1/4 cup)....

And OF COURSE, the beloved blue cheese crumblesJ  Which, let's be honest, is the MAIN star of this whole damn showJ

The slaw made an excellent WRAP topper...as well as a few spoonfuls as an extra side dishJ  We can't get enough of that stuff!

Such a FAST, HEALTHY and delicious dinner!  I lovvveddd all of the cooool lettuce wraps, cole slaw and blue cheese mixed with the moist & spicy chicken.  This one is definitely going in the mix for our 'buffalo favorites.'  (although, I DID miss the CRUNCH of the panko.  Just sayinJ)

Well, that about wraps up the week for me.  Hope you guys have a great weekend!  I can't believe it's already May and FARMER'S MARKET SEASON!  Seeeshhhhhhh...where did the time go???  

And speaking of May....here are some fun Mexican recipes if anyone needs some ideas to celebrate Cinco de Mayo tomorrow!

Arroz Con Pollo

Black Bean and Spinach Pizza

Chicken Fajitas

Pork Stew with Fried Plantains

Shrimp Tamalas

Sopes with Chirizo & Potato

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Coconut Tre Leche Cake

Have a good Friday, everyone!

Slashed in half...

Morning everyone!  Continuing my batch of healthy and SUPER QUICK dinners this week, we had another  crazy easy dinner on tap last night: Corn & Green Onion Quinoa (based on this recipe)...

And this dinner was made even EASIER by all of the 'prep work' I had done the other day....hence my tower of TupperwareJ 

And it was a good thing I didn't have to do *TOO* much last night, as I had tried to chop up some more red onions to make another Mediterranean Veggie Wrap for lunch in the afternoon and managed to thinly slice my thumb in the process.... 

*OUCH!*

Annnnyway....so this super easy recipe started by combining some diced green onions & frozen roasted corn in a pan with a couple tablespoons of butter... 

I can. not. wait for Jersey sweet corn (one of the few things I enjoy about summerJ), but in the mean time, this roasted corn (or any frozen corn) worked perfectly...

After the corn & onions heated for a few minutes, I added into the pan 1 1/2 cups of pre-cooked quinoa.... 

Quinoa cooks in about 15-20 minutes (simmered in boiling water), but by having the quinoa already ready, it slashed my cooking time in HALF.  It's an easy step to take to save you those precious few extra minutes and it does not affect the taste or texture AT ALL.

Finally, the last ingredient I had made in advance was the lemon honey vinaigrette... 

• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, microplaned or finely minced
• 1 1/4 tablespoon honey
• salt & pepper

Then all had to do was heat everything up together!  How quick is THAT???

And in the few minutes it took for the quinoa and marinade to heat together, I was able to wash up all of the dishes...(always a bonus, right??)

...and even had a small visitor come say helloJ

4 minutes later:  Dinner was served!

It has taken me...awhile, but I think I'm FINALLY a quinoa convert!  Like couscous, it's a blank palate that you can add any ingredients to flavor it up.  But unlike couscous, quinoa is actually a PROTEIN source, not a grain.  Which makes it not only tasty but FILLING.

And I loveddd the combo of sweet corn, tangy lemon & mellow green onions.  Even SCOTT was a fan!  I was impressedJ

And to round out our night, I MUSTTTT show you this dessert that we have been OBSESSED with lately!

I had picked up this box of Stonyfield yogurt pops with some trepidation.  I thought the chocolate would taste fake and the yogurt would give these pops an icy, bland taste. 

WRONG-O!  These babies are AMAAZING!!!  THICK, chocolate-y on the outside and sweet, vanilla bean cream on the inside.  You would NEVER KNOW they were made with nonfat yogurt!  And with the chocolate layer being organic & healthy dark, Scott pretty much declared these health foodJ

Hahahahaha...and while, no, they are not health food...they are still none too shabby in the 'facts' department.  170 calories for a chocolate dipped ice cream bar is PRETTY darn good.  Most similar products are more than DOUBLE that! 

So if you want a lower calorie, but still CRAZY delicious dessert option, try these bars!  Me thinks you won't be disappointed.  Perfect for the approaching season! 

Alright, well I better skedaddle as I'm seeing 2 tiny eyelids starting to pop open:)  Have a good Wednesday, everyone!

I'm baa-aackkk....

Hi everyone!  It's me, Donna, back from the great beyond.  

Otherwise known as the crazy ride of new parenthood taking care of this little sweet pea....

Raising a new member of the family has been an adjustment in EVERY possible way.  A new experience to say the very least.  My favorite quote I've read recently is "Having a baby is like going to sleep in your own bed and waking up in Zimbabwe."  No truer words have been spoken.J hahahahahahha  It is QUITE a ride that NOTHING can prepare you for.J

What hasn't changed, however, is our want/need to keep up our healthy eating and exercising habits.  And like everything else, that has ALSO required some adjusting.  I've always made healthy eating a priority in our house and I've resolved that it has to STAY that way even during this adjustment period.  And TRUST ME, that hasn't been easy!!!  But as each week passes, I'm SLOWLY learning how I can realistically work it back into our new schedules.

One thing I'm starting to do is prep meals as CLOSE to completed as I can.  This week, while the baby was napping, I spent an hour rinsing, chopping and prepping about 95% of our dinners for the week.  So hopefully I can bring dinner prep down to about 10 minutes rather than 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

And our first meal of the week was SUPERRRRR easy to prep ahead.  For the main dish, we had Mediterranean Garden Wraps...    

(based on this recipe)   

In advance, I had prepped all the veggies (isn't that plate a beaut?!)...

• 3 shredded carrots (done with a vegetable peeler!)
• 2 diced roasted red peppers
• 1/2 sliced cucumber
• 1/2 sliced red onion
• 1/2 avocado  (the only thing I would wait till the last moment to chop up.  Avocado browns up too quickly)

Another thing that I was able to prep in advance was the herb spread...

• 1 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon diced cilantro
• 2 tablespoons diced chives
• salt & pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced or microplaned

Mix everything together & refrigerate.  (ps- drain off any excess liquid before using the yogurt spread)

When it was time for dinner, I laid out all of my ingredients...

(Lavash is a Middle Eastern flat bread, but you can use any pita, nann, tortilla or bread that you like.)

Spread the herb/yogurt mixture down the center of the wrap... 

 And then pile on your veggies...

Remember:  The more colorful your meal, the more healthy it is for you! 

 

Roll up your wrap and you are set!  

I loved the crunch of the carrots & cucumbers, the mega flavor from the red peppers & herb spread and the smoooootthhhh avocado.  This was one of those dinners you just FELT GOOD having!  And it was quite delicious to boot.J

And on the side, our VERY FAVORITE side dish:  Southwestern Couscous salad! 

Mix together & refrigerate:

• 1 cup whole wheat couscous cooked in 1 cup water, refrigerate overnight 
• 2 ears of corn, grilled, cooled & 'de-eared' ;)
• 1 diced avocado
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 red onion, diced, sauteed & cooled
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

This is a dish that tastes better as it sits.  Perfect for "prep ahead!" J

Quite a colorful dinner, wouldn't you say??

Alright, well that about wraps up my first 'official' blog post in just about 2 months!  Hope you guys liked it!  I can't promise I'll be back here every day (or sometimes, not even once a week), but I'll try my best.  Just like all healthy habits, I'll just do what I can.  

Have a good Tuesday, everyone!J